ANN ARBOR - Labor support had deep family roots for many at a small, but dedicated rally against right-to-work legislation in Ann Arbor on Monday night.

The protest, held near Gov. Rick Snyder's Ann Arbor-area home in Geddes Glen, was in reaction to the state House and Senate's passing of the legislation last Thursday. The right-to-work bill was passed in less than 24 hours, and, if signed into law, would allow employees to opt out of paying union dues. As it stands, those who work at unionized places of employment must agree to pay dues to their local union to be employed there.

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Less than 12 percent of the nation's workforce is unionized, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics' latest report. That's 14.8 million people, a steadily dwindling number that scares someone like Ann Arbor-area resident Solomon James.

"I thought I lived in a union state - not a union state but 'The Union State,'" said James, who stood with the We Are Michigan coalition's protest.

With a father and a father-in-law who both had union jobs most of their lives, James said he knows they couldn't have retired without those kind of benefits. Now he worries that the future of jobs with decent benefits in Michigan is fading away.

"I feel like a big knob was turned that just sort of shifted the direction of Michigan backwards," he said. "I didn't move to a right-to work-state, and I don't want it to become a right-to-work state."

James said the statistics he has read on right-to-work states show that workers lose an average of $1,500 per year, as compared to states without the law. Should Snyder sign the bill into law on Tuesday, James said he and his family will move.

"I don't want my kids to grow up in a right-to-work state," he said, adding that he knows many professionals around his age who depend upon decent wages and job security that he believes only unionized employment can provide. Those professionals will leave Michigan, he said, taking their expertise with them.

However, proponents of the law, including Snyder, say the right-to-work bill is about worker fairness and equity, and that workers should have the freedom to decide whether to join a union.

Another protestor, Lora Rosenbaum, said the debate has reminded her of her grandfather and what he fought for years ago.

Her grandfather was a steel worker in Pittsburgh, and Rosenbaum said he helped organize and form a local union there.

As a small-business owner, Rosenbaum felt the debate proved people don't understand the basic function of unions.

"People today work hard and work long hours," Rosenbaum said, indicating that many people just don't have the time to get educated about the issue and take information at face value.

"None of this is based in truth," Rosenbaum said regarding what Snyder called "freedom to choose" legislation.

With a mandatory waiting period of five days, tomorrow is the first chance Snyder will have to sign the legislation into law.

Rosenbaum said she will be heading to Lansing tomorrow to protest in the hope that Snyder will hear the voices of the opposition and take heed.